Data are common currency in education, with states collecting reams of information each year about students, teachers, schools and districts. But having a lot of data doesn’t mean much if repositories aren’t being used to improve schools and classrooms for all students. MCIEA has an indication that better data can change the narrative about schools and communities.

To help build a more comprehensive system for measuring school quality that goes beyond test scores, the Massachusetts Consortium for Innovative Educational Assessment asked people who had a close-up view of what happens day-to-day in schools – teachers, principals, district administrators, family members, and students – what made a good school.